When you contemplated future technologies as a kid it probably included flying cars, hoverboards and teleportation. This Jetsons-esque life isn’t available (yet) but products that change how we work are. One notable recent release is Microsoft Teams, a platform that provides a new landscape of collaboration and productivity.
Teams won’t help you zoom past a traffic jam on I-95 or the beltway on the way to the office, but it will make you more productive during the workday.
What is Microsoft Teams?
Teams is more than a business communication app; it is a unified communications solution that unites the myriad ways businesses communicate in a single, hyper-collaborative platform.
Working as a team on a project requires tracking progress and conversations across multiple applications. You could have one coworker asking for a status update on a project management platform while another is asking for similar details in chat. If either had checked the email you sent, they’d know the answer.
Microsoft Teams streamlines workflows and processes by providing a space where you can share and edit documents, chat in real time, hold phone calls, look up information online and send updates from a single platform. You don’t need to open additional browser windows or reach for your phone because the information is centrally located in Teams.
Teams Provides Your Business New Tools for Hyper-Collaboration
Here are a few of the ways Teams facilitates productivity and collaboration by simplifying processes:
Teams is a Better Communication App
Instead of sending endless emails back and forth and searching for attachments, you communicate and collaborate in real time with colleagues and clients. This can be done via chats and file sharing. Or you can quickly schedule or hop on audio and video conferences. Teams also can function as your phone, letting you place or receive calls from your computer or mobile device.
Manage Projects and Increase Productivity
App integrations in Teams provide the opportunity to further increase productivity. Your marketing department can add social media apps or email marketing software, turning Teams into a hub for all daily operations.
As just one example, you can send revisions to a client proposal back and forth internally. Once it is ready for the client, use a document signing app integration to get the proposal sent and signed by all parties, all without leaving the Teams interface.
Dynamic, Continually Expanding Features
Teams resembles Azure in two ways. First, Microsoft applies the same Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Teams. Like Azure, Teams will continuously evolve and add new capabilities. Second, any user can build an app for Teams that other companies then take advantage of. As a result, the services within Teams improve as more businesses adopt the platform.
Frequently Asked Questions About Microsoft Teams
Is Transitioning to Teams Difficult?
Setting Teams up is simple. To really benefit, you’ll need to alter your workflows, rely less on email and embrace a new way of working.
Will Teams Replace Skype?
Yes, and although the interface is different, you won’t lose functionality. Everything in Skype for Business can be done in Teams, including using it as your phone system.
However, once you move your public switch from Skype for Business to Teams you cannot go back. Before making this change, discuss any potential issues with an IT expert.
Can I set Teams up on my own?
Teams is a cloud-based application included in Office 365 and anyone can get started with just a few clicks. But to really unlock Teams, consult an IT professional who can walk you through the implementation steps. They’ll also be able to point to which apps and integrations will benefit your organization.
Testing Microsoft Teams
The click-and-go nature of Teams makes it easy to add it to your company in phases. After a few clicks you can start testing features to gain institutional knowledge before rolling the platform out to the rest of the company.
At Nortec, right now, half of our employees are using Teams while everyone else continues to use Skype for Business. The feedback from employees using Teams gets incorporated into trainings as we roll it out to others in the company.
Ready to test Teams? Contact Nortec online or call us at 866-531-1990 today to discuss how to get started.